Leaping into Lent

I'm not sure why Lent seems to sneak up on me like it does.

Two years ago I was driving to church on Ash Wednesday when God whispered that I needed to turn off the music and leave it off until Easter. I thought silent drives would kill me, but I learned to cherish that prayer time...and I had NO CLUE how much I'd need it, because I didn't know a desert lurked around the corner.

Last year I was in Florida riding to the beach when Marie texted me to ask if I was giving anything up for Lent...because it began the next day. Uhhhh...let me think about that! And that was the day God urged me to embrace the lyrics of FFH's song Undone and work on giving up my tight-fisted control on my life. I had no clue I was about to uproot my whole life and career and change directions.

So you can imagine my consternation this year when He said "You're getting awfully attached to dessert. I think you need to lay off the dessert for a season."

It's true. Dessert and I have long had a love/hate relationship. I love it. It loves me...in all the wrong places. I end up hating myself...and so the cycle goes. I'd done well with limiting my intake...until recently when I found myself cutting down on dinner so I had even more room for dessert. Bad, bad plan.

Do not mistake this...I'm not giving up dessert for Lent so I can lose a few pounds (though I would ever so happily welcome that side effect!). I'm giving up dessert for Lent because I was becoming dependent on it and I need to refocus. I need to remember that my greatest joy is not found in a brownie. My greatest joy is not encased in a warm cookie as it emerges from the oven. (Yes, my mouth is watering just writing about it.) My greatest joy is found in the Lord. And He has given me the willpower, should I choose to use it, to say no to dessert.

(I can see why sacrifice induces prayer.)

I leave you with this quote, which I read on Will Davis Jr.'s website. I thought it summed up Lenten sacrifice pretty well...and this is my own hope: "The Lenten season is a call to release things, to let let go of things and to set aside things that might interfere with our relationship with God so we can know him better. It’s not about setting aside cokes and snacks so we can lose weight. It’s about denying yourself things so you can gain God. And, it’s a great concept.
God is rarely found in the world of surplus...So the Bible calls us to seasons of fasting, prayer and self-denial so we can keep things and God in proper perspective."